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<title>The Epic Search of Unfathomable Difficulty by DragonThistle</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26894410">The Epic Search of Unfathomable Difficulty</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonThistle/pseuds/DragonThistle'>DragonThistle</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Days You Think You'll Forget (but I kept a scrapbook full of polaroids) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Eddsworld - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Domestic Fluff, Monster Tom (Eddsworld) - Freeform, Tom invades everyone's privacy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 00:15:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26894410</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonThistle/pseuds/DragonThistle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tom's looking for something important and he's not going to stop until he finds it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Friendship - Relationship, No Romantic Relationship(s), platonic - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Days You Think You'll Forget (but I kept a scrapbook full of polaroids) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959427</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Epic Search of Unfathomable Difficulty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>“It’s not the conclusion of the plot that matters, it’s what you do on the way to get there.” -Anonymous</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tord had just discarded his jeans into the hamper when something nudged his door open and came snuffling into the room. He whipped around, pulling a pistol from under his pillow as he did so, but froze when he saw the bundle of violet scales trundling across the floor, nose to the ground.</p>
<p>Tom was partially shifted but he padded across the room on all fours as if it was completely natural, his short snout sniffing at the carpet as he circled the room. He looked up and narrowed his pitch black eye when he saw the gun, the streak of pale purple fur on his back bristling a little. Tord dropped the pistol onto his bed and Tom snorted before continuing his way around the room. He stuck his nose into corners, pawed through the pile of dirty clothes, and even stuck his head under Tord’s bed. </p>
<p>But he didn’t seem to find what he was looking for because he left the room again without a word. Tord watched the tip of his housemate’s tail flick out of view and looked around his room in wonderment. </p>
<p>What the hell had Tom been looking for?</p><hr/>
<p>Edd was still in the sitting room watching television when Tom walked in. Edd watched him a little warily; Tom had been in a foul mood that day, so uncooperative and angry he’d eventually just shifted and sulked around the house, growling at everyone. Edd didn’t know what was bothering his friend and Tom wasn’t likely to tell him. Tom usually drowned his sorrows in a bottle of alcohol rather than in his friends but since they’d been pushing him to sobriety, things had gotten a little rocky.</p>
<p>Tom prowled around the sitting room, sniffing and huffing, sticking his nose under furniture and grumbling all the while. He wasn’t very big like this, his tail only adding a few meters to his usual height, but he was rather intimidating, all horns and dark scales and bristled fur. Edd swallowed and ventured a question,</p>
<p>“Er, Tom, everything all right?”</p>
<p>The half-shifted monster jerked his head up from where he’d been sniffing underneath the side table. His ears were straight up and pointed in Edd’s direction, black eye wide with some sort of expectation. Then he was scrambling over the arm of the couch and bounding up to Edd, sniffing all over his sweater and hands, ears flicking up and down, up and down. Edd snickered, trying to push Tom away from sniffing at his neck. It was so easy to forget that the more Tom shifted, the more animalistic he became.</p>
<p>“Tom—Tom, stop! Haha, stop it! What are you—Tom!” Edd shoved the monster’s head away, still chuckling, “What are you doing, you weird mutt?”</p>
<p>Tom snorted, pining his ears back at the insult, and hopped off the couch. He stuck his nose in the air and stalked out of the room.</p>
<p>But not before he smacked Edd on the arm with the end of his tail.</p><hr/>
<p>Something was scratching at Matt’s door and the ginger frowned as he pulled a bathrobe on, making his way over to the door. Who would dare interrupt his nighttime routine! Everyone in the house knew how important this was!</p>
<p>He threw his door open and managed to catch a glimpse of purple before Tom nearly knocked him over wriggling his way into the room.</p>
<p>“Tom! Hey! Bad monster! Get out!”</p>
<p>Tom ignored him, trotting around Matt’s room and getting into everything. He put his front paws up on Matt’s vanity, knocking over dozens of bottles of skin and hair care products, dug around in the closet, dragging piles of unfolded clothes out with him when he was finished, and pounced into the pile of novelty toys and stuffed animals. He nosed around, growling and completely ignoring Matt’s yelling, until he finally paused at the ginger’s bed.</p>
<p>“Thomas, I swear to all things beautiful and perfect, if you don’t get out of my room right now I’m going to—hey! Hey! No don’t go under the bed! What are you doing!?”</p>
<p>But Tom had already wedged his upper half between the floor and the bed frame, tail thrashing as he scrambled to fit underneath it. Matt shrieked as the bed was bucked against the wall, Tom’s broad and powerful monster shoulders heaving it out of the way as if it were made of cardboard and was not an ornate four poster made of pale metal and heavy drapes. </p>
<p>Tom was halfway underneath the bed with Matt screaming at the top of his voice and yanking on the monster’s tail, slippers sliding uselessly across the carpet. Of course, the noise drew Tord and Edd into the room and they only laughed when Matt yelled at them to help. The ginger’s screeching was abruptly cut off as Tom backed out from under the bed, sending Matt scrambling out of the way of the monster. The bed hit the floor again with a bang that made everyone flinch. </p>
<p>Shaking himself like a dog out of water, Tom straightened up, turned, and trotted out of the room, his head held high. Held delicately between his jaws was a small, well-loved plush bear with downy fur. The monster didn’t even glance at the other three as he made his way out of the room, looking for all the world like he’d won first prize. </p>
<p>“Why was Tomee Bear under you bed?” Edd asked as Tom vanished down the hall.</p>
<p>“I—I don’t—I was just—“ Matt stuttered for an answer and finally just threw his hands in the air, “I don’t know!”</p>
<p>Tord cackled, doubling over with laughter, and Matt hurled insults at him. Edd rolled his eyes and left before he got dragged into their petty arguing. He yawned as he walked down the hall, already contemplating how many sodas he could get in before he really needed to get to sleep, when the sight of Tom’s open bedroom door made him pause.</p>
<p>He couldn’t help himself. Edd crept up to the door and peered in, the light from the hall illuminating just enough to let him see.</p>
<p>Tom was curled on his bed, barely fitting on it with the size he was, his head on his massive paws. His tail was draped over the edge of the pile of blankets he was nesting in, tip almost touching the floor, and his breathing was deep and slow. Tomee Bear was tucked against his chin, settled there with all the tender loving care Edd had come to expect in regards to the toy.</p>
<p>Edd considered scaring Tom awake, just to see his reaction. </p>
<p>But then he thought of the distressed and angry noises Tom had been making while he’d been looking for the bear. He thought of the frustration and short temper his housemate had been dealing with all day. He thought of how Tom’s usual coping mechanism was no longer available to him and it was impossible to play Susan with claws and paw pads.</p>
<p>Edd gently pulled the door shut and made his way back to the sitting room. </p>
<p>He’d let Tom have his peace. Just this once.</p>
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